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PARIAH is a debut feature from writer/director Dee Rees, executive-produced by Spike Lee. Release date for movie also set.

Following an online outreach, Focus Features has revealed the moviegoing public’s choice of the official theatrical release poster for the contemporary drama Pariah, written and directed by Dee Rees.

Pariah world-premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where it was honored with the Excellence in Cinematography Award (Bradford Young). Spike Lee is among the feature’s executive producers. Pariah is produced by Nekisa Cooper.

With the public having now selected the Pariah one-sheet, Focus is also announcing the movie’s theatrical release information. Pariah will open in exclusive engagements in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on Sunday, December 25th; and will expand to additional cities throughout the winter. The movie will also screen on Monday, September 12th at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Pariah has already received critical acclaim. A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, “To watch Adepero Oduye…is to experience the thrill of discovery.” Peter Travers of Rolling Stone cited “Dee Rees’ wonderful Pariah” as one of his “personal faves” at Sundance.

A rousing success at its Sundance world premiere, this deeply felt human drama is the feature debut for Ms. Rees. Adepero Oduye portrays Alike (pronounced “ah-lee-kay”), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. A gifted student, Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the support of her best friend Laura (Pernell Walker), she is especially eager to find a girlfriend. Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity.

Focus Features vice president, new media Nicole Butte commented, “Focus and the Pariah filmmakers wanted to give those filmgoers who are looking forward to Pariah a voice, and to invite them into the creative process. We’re pleased to announce that the poster the public voted for – out of five contenders – is ‘Subway.’ It will now go out online and into theaters as our official one-sheet poster for the movie’s winter release.”

Ms. Rees added, “When Focus came to Nekisa and me with the five potential posters, we were hard-pressed to pick a favorite. Since we made Pariah to open up a dialogue with everybody, it was ideal that people got to make their voices heard and choose our one-sheet. I’m looking forward to keeping the conversation going with the movie’s release.”

The runner-up posters to “Subway” were “Rooftop,” “Profile,” “Brush Stroke,” and “Title Block.” Voting polls opened in July exclusively through the movie’s official Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/PariahTheMovie, and closed in August.